Memories of Glass from my Childhood

We all have childhood memories. Good and bad. However, how many people can say that one of the water-shed memories in their life was when they saw a 7-UP bottle? However, this wasn’t just ANY 7-UP bottle. This was one of those bottles that was stretched out to just around 3′ tall. And when you are 5 years old, that is one HUGE bottle.

This bottle was a gift to my mother from one of my sisters way back in the late 1960s. I remember this bottle being showcased on our brick and board bookcase in my childhood home. I was told constantly that I wasn’t allowed to touch it because it was very fragile. I wasn’t one of those children that was cautious or careful around anything, however, this bottle was fascinating to me. I used to stare at it and wonder what magic was used to make this ordinary 7-UP bottle a piece of fantastic and unusual art. (Yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.)

Several years passed, however, my underlying interest in glass was always there. I always looked at glass art as a moment frozen in time…..just like that 7-UP bottle from my childhood. I love seeing the bubbles inside a piece of glass or the swoop of the glass bowl, and realize that the glass in that piece of art is like a liquid frozen in time…..forever representing the moment it was created.

Unfortunately, in November 2019 my mother passed away unexpectedly. My sisters were unaware of how much this 7-UP bottle meant to me, however, they were so awesome in letting me take it home with me.

I have this now in my home here in Florida as a constant reminder of my mother as well as the very start of my love of glass as a child. For me, this 7-UP bottle is that piece of art that represents that moment in time when a mother tells her 5 year old child to “Be careful. This is very fragile.”

Posted on February 28, 2020 by talljules